Photographing movement

"Inside movement there is one moment in which the elements are in balance. Photography must seize the importance of this moment and hold immobile the equilibrium of it."
- Henri Cartier-Bresson

Today, we will look at various techniques you can use to incorporate movement – or simply blur, in various forms – into your pictures. The class handout explains this in detail, and here are some web links that also provide visual examples, and some additional tips and tricks:

"15 stunning images using blur to portray movement"

"How to Capture Motion Blur in Photography"

"45 Beautiful Motion Blur Photos"

Separately, we will also continue our study of work by photographers, around the world, viewing slideshows online and discussing them. They include two different sets of pictures from the aftermath of the Bankok Riots, one is from VII and the other Magnum.

-Red Shirts by Agnes Dherbey. "Agnes Dherbey has continued her coverage of the Red Shirts protest in Bangkok since violence flared in Spring 2010. VII The Magazine is pleased to update her earlier dispatch with this graphic account of the recent events and her personal feelings and observations about what has been happening in Thailand," writes VII The Magazine as it publishes Red Shirts online.

-The riots aftermath by Hiroji Kubota. "After a six week standoff between Red Shirt protesters and government forces, opposition leaders surrendered and left their fortified position in central Bangkok. Soon after, retreating protesters set fire to many buildings in the area, including a major shopping center. The Thai military responded with a deadly crackdown which lead to dozens of deaths and the implementation of a strict curfew," explains Magnum next to the online gallery.

Photographing relationships

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh!" he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you. - A.A. Milne

Today we will look at various photos for inspiration on relationship photography, including a project called Touching Strangers, by photographer Richard Renaldi. "Touching Strangers is an ongoing photographic project stemming from my interest in the dynamics of group portraiture," explains Renaldi in an article about the project in Bite Magazine, which has also published a gallery of Renaldi's images.

"The premise of this work is simple: I meet two or more people on the street who are strangers to each other, and to me. I ask them if they will pose for a photograph together with the stipulation that they must touch each other in some manner. Frequently, I instruct or coach the subjects how to touch. Just as often, I let their tentative physical exploration play out before my camera with no interference," Renaldi said.

We will also view an audio-visual slideshow called "Remember Me" by Preston Gannaway, at The Concord Monitor. It's a story about Carolynne St. Pierre, and her family, as they cope with her illness, prepares to live life without her, and copes with her death after she is gone.

Your photos and the internet

Here's a link to a blog post you may want to read in regards to posting photos on the internet... and more. It's about a court case between a Haitian photographer and AFP.

The reality of combat

"I see the kind of photojournalist who covers war to be somebody who has, number one, an incredible amount of bravery, an ability to put themselves apart from the circumstances they are in," says Maryanne Golon, former Time director of photography, in the new Time inc. web documentary  showcasing the work of photographers Ralph Morse, Larry Burrows and James Nachtway.

Time, this year, gave the Briton Hadden Lifetime Achievement to the three photographers. "The Award this year honored war photography and was given to three courageous men whose pictures have brought the reality of combat to the pages of Time Inc. magazine for nearly 70 years," said John Huye, Time editor in chief, in an April memo this his staff about the award.

Here is a link to the documentary, which we viewed in class. You can read more about the three photographers in the class handout, along with the discussion points for our talk about the role of a conflict photographer.

Up close and personal

"You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it."

-Author unknown

Although it's easier said than done, we have talked about the importance of being able to convey emotion - and capture with intimacy the lives of your subjects - when carrying out a documentary project.

Today, we are viewing some work by contemporary photographers who have managed to do that exceptionally well:

-Brenda Ann Kenneally’s photo essay "Upstate Girls."  The photo essay "documents the coming of age of five troubled young women in Troy, N.Y," writes the New York Times online about the essay it shows in a web gallery. "It is a decidedly unromantic view of poverty, dysfunction and teen pregnancy."

-Work by the The Washington Post's Carol Guzy. (You'll need to sign up for a free subscription to view).

-Another photographer to have a look at is Ami Vitale. Here is a link to her "Where every pregnancy is a gamble" on her website.

Much, much more to come... A great way to grow as a photographer is, of course, to look at good photography.

Another way to make a big improvement to your photo skills, and one of the most effective ways to create a feel of closeness in your story, is to, literary, take a big step closer to your subject. We'll practice that today...

The moments are up now...

The NYT: Lens A Moment in Time gallery is up now, and I see ours made it in...

And then there was light...

Without our friend the light, we would not be able to take a single photograph, no matter how sophisticated our cameras.

So today's lecture will be a reminder to all of us that mastering the art of painting with light - goes way beyond making correct exposures.

Some photographers have mastered this art better than others. We will look at some greatly-lit pictures for inspiration -- in preparation for this week's assignment.

For example, we will view an essay by Russian Dmitry Markov called Akward Age and have a look at Jonas Bendiksen's Magnum portfolio.

We will also look at some of Santu Mofokeng's historical images (in slide- and book form, as I could not find a web gallery to point you toward) -- which will then also lead us into a discussion about the debate on the role of photography.

PS. Here is an example of a silhouette for when we get to the various lighting examples for this week's assignment.

NYT: A moment in Time

Hi guys - hope you shot something our time Sunday at 5pm for the The New York Time's "A moment in Time." Here are some of the first submissions.  Can't wait to see yours... See you on Wednesday!

Canon Female Photojournalist Award

Canon and the Association des Femmes Journalistes (AFJ) have opened submissions for the tenth competition to find 2010’s Canon Female Photojournalist of the year.

Sponsored by Canon France and granted by AFJ, the winner will receive an €8000 prize and a photojournalistic project.

The competition is open to any female professional photojournalist of any age or nationality.

This year’s applicants will be judged both upon the presentation of their project, the quality of their photographs, relevance of their chosen subject, the inspiration behind their story and any previous work.

The deadline for submissions is 31 May 2010, and a jury will select a winner in June.

You can read the rules and dowload an application package from the Canon Female Photojournalist Award site.

Burn photo grant deadline extended

The deadline for the photo grant issued by Burn magazine has been extended until May 1.

The Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Award

This year, the Pierre & Alexandra Boulat award, supported by Canon Europe, will be launched at Perpignan, during the Festival Visa pour l'Image.

The intention of the award is to allow the winner to produce a story that has never been told but that the photographer cannot find support for within the media.

You can download the application package here. The deadline for submissions are June 30.

Conveying emotion to the viewer...

"My Mum died suddenly on September 4th, 2006. After she died, I realized how much she'd been shielding me from my father's mental state. He doesn't have Alzheimer's, but he has no short-term memory, and is often lost. I took him to the funeral, but when he got home, he kept asking me every 15 minutes where my mother was. I had to explain over and over again, that she had died. This was shocking news to him.... -Phillip Toledono writes in the opening passage of a photo essay about his father.

We are looking at this moving photo essay to see how emotion and intimacy can be conveyed to the viewer in pictures and by the accompanying captions. When creating a photo essay, it's important not only to communicate the concept behind the story, but also the emotional content.

There are many ways to edit, sequence and lay out your photo essay. In class, we will be looking at some things to consider in this regard.

Arnold Newman

PDN has put together a fabulous resource on Arnold Newman - one of the greatest (environmental) portrait photographers of our time.

Here you can view galleries of his work, including portraits of Alfred Stieglitz, Pablo Picasso and Marilyn Monroe.

You can also listen to instructional audio interviews on how to approach a subject and setting up your portrait; as well as a clip in which Newman comments on being called the original "Environmental Portraitist."

Annie Leibovitz

Here is a PBS photo gallery showcasing some of Annie Leibovitz most known celebrity photographs, including Whoopi Goldberg in a milk bath and a naked John Lennon with Yoko Ono.

For new portraits published this month, check her new Hollywood portfolio in Vanity Fair.

Henri Cartier-Bresson and the “decisive moment”

"Photography is not like painting," Henri Cartier-Bresson told the Washington Post in 1957. "There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative," he said. "Oops! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever."

French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (August 22, 1908 – August 3, 2004) is by many considered the father of modern photojournalism. He was a master of candid photography and at capturing “the moment”.

Often times, what may look like a photographer’s lucky break has taken careful planning. For example, in the photo Behind Saint-Lazare Station, Cartier-Bresson framed the shot first – i.e. he selected the background, including the big puddle – anticipating what might happen when someone needed to cross it. He then waited for a person to walk/jump into his picture. And: Voila!

Use Cartier-Bresson’s photos (as seen in class) for inspiration as you go about capturing “the moment(s)” in your subjects’ lives.

Emerging Photographer’s Fund grant 2010

Burn Magazine is now receiving submissions for Emerging Photographer’s Fund grant 2010 a grant of $15,000. The deadline is April 15.

Funding is designed to support continuation of a photographer’s personal project. This body of work may be of either journalistic mission or purely personal artistic imperatives…

The Emerging Photographer Fund grant was initiated by David Alan Harvey in 2008, and is awarded by the Magnum Foundation, a non-profit created by the member photographers from Magnum Photos, Inc. Funding for the EPF has come from several private donors who have chosen to remain anonymous.

The EPF Jury for 2009 was: Martin Parr, Gilles Peress, Eugene Richards, Carol Nagar, Fred Ritchin, Maggie Steber, David Griffin, John Gossage and James Nachtwey…

The 2008 Emerging Photographer Fund grant was awarded to Sean Gallagher for his essay on the environmental “desertification” of China.

The 2009 Emerging Photographer Fund grant was awarded to Alejandro Chaskielburg for his essay on the Parana River delta.

Mary Ellen Mark

Continuing our study of environmental portraits and documentary photographers, we will look at the work of Mary Ellen Mark, including her ‘Mexican Circus’ and 'Indian Street Performer' essays.

Mark's images of the world's diverse cultures have become landmarks in the field of documentary photography. Her work from India, include her portrayals of Mother Teresa, Indian circuses, and brothels in Bombay.

Here's a link to Mary Ellen Mark's gallery online.

Books by Mary Ellen Mark:

Seen Behind the Scene: Forty Years of Photographing on Set (Photography)

Mary Ellen Mark: Falkland Road

Mary Ellen Mark

Mary Ellen Mark: Twins (Aperture Monograph)

Photographers we'd like to connect with...

Hey thanks class for your entries about photojournalists and documentary photographers whose work you find interesting, fascinating, worth learning from or outrageous. Throughout the year, we will come back to them and study these photographers' work more closely. Here is a list of these photographers, in no particular order:

Peter Mugabane;
Annie Leibovitz;
Mikhael Subotzky;
Alf Khumalo;
Judy Griesedieck;
Zwelethu Mthetwa;
Sam Nzima;
Robert Leon;
Paul Weinberg;
Shirin Neshat;
Jonathan Torgovnik;
Johan Bavman;
Milton Rogovin;
Cathy Muiek;
Will Robson-Scott;
Sebastiao Salgado;
David Goldblatt;
Alon Skye;
Milton Brooks;
Bill Beall;
Peter Hugo;
John Robison;
Mariella Furrer;
Tim Hetherington;
Aida Mulench;
Steve McCurry;
Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi;
W. Eugene Smith;
Jennifer Bruce;

W. Eugene Smith

"I am an idealist. I often feel I would like to be an artist in an ivory tower. Yet it is imperative that I speak to people, so I must desert that ivory tower. To do this, I am a journalist—a photojournalist. But I am always torn between the attitude of the journalist, who is a recorder of facts, and the artist, who is often necessarily at odds with the facts. My principle concern is for honesty, above all honesty with myself..."

-W. Eugene Smith

American W. Eugene Smith, 1918 -1978, is a legendary photojournalist, who beyond his fine technical skills, is also respected for his integrity and passion to tell the truth. So much so that he was known for, at times, being at odds with photo editors, defending his personal vision on assignments.

The photographer captured emotionally-charged battle scenes during World War II, and created other great photo essays for Life magazine, including the The Country Doctor, essays which perfected the term. Smith spent an extraordinary amount of time with his subjects, immersing himself in their lives, something other photographers hadn't generally done up until then.

One of his most famous photographs "Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath" drew world-wide attention to the effects of Minimata disease, which was caused by the Chisso corporation discharging heavy metals into the water sources around Minimata. To view pictures from the Minimata series, here is a link to Magnum's archive.

To read some more about Smith's work on Minimata and the Tomoko photograph, here is an article in the Digital Journalist by Jim Hughes, founder of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund,

The story isn't always what we came to tell...

"I was on assignment to document love, not to photograph domestic violence. Accidentally, I discovered a woman could get beaten in her own home by the man that she loves. I never considered that."

-Donna Ferrato, as quoted from the book Witness in Our Time: Working Lives of Documentary Photographers by Ken Light, about the making of her photography book Living with the Enemy

You can see a gallery of some of Ferrato's images on Abuse Aware the foundation she started to expose the horrors of domestic violence through photography